Ideas for long layover in NYC

I love NYC and have visited many times. You don't say what airport you're flying into (JFK or LG), but either of those will get you into the city. If you like museums, I highly recommend either the Natural History Museum or the Met, both by Central Park, which you could explore after the museum. Hope you have fun in both locations!

If it's clear, the top of the Empire State Building or the "Top of the Rock" and Times Square would top my list.

So figure you would have at least from 8 am until 5pm in the city - that's a good day. You should be able to see several of the "biggies". Empire State Building - definitely go up. You could either take the ferry to the Statue of Liberty of just view her from Battery Park, the 9/11 Memorial, Times Square.

In this instance I might suggest a HOHO getting off at only the most important places.

Depending on when in Oct - Central Park could be gorgeous with fall color!

Transportation to/from JFK

Good ideas above, especially getting up in a tall building if the weather's good. Another type of "overview" would be a Circle Line cruise around Manhattan, with narration as you pass the landmarks and learn about the history. There are two a day in October and they last 2 1/2 hours.

I don't know whether there's a hop-on-hop-off bus in NYC but I'd be surprised if there isn't. Another way to see a lot, on the surface, in a limited time.

You'll need to research the quickest way (within your budget) to get between JFK and, say, midtown Manhattan. I think there's a subway link now (the subway is an adventure in itself). I'd also suggest you look to Trip Advisor or some other forum focused more on NYC. Some of the Europhiles on this board would be quite knowledgeable about New York, but most would not. I love the city but haven't visited in six years or lived there in almost 40.

Take a taxi to the Cloisters, part of the Met, see the Unicorn Tapestries, should put you in the mood for Paris. Then taxi to Central Park. Have an early dinner then taxi ride past Rockerfeller Center on the way back to the airport.
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Luggage storage JFK terminal 1 & 4

If you are tight on time and want to visit the 911 Musuem, you may want to reserve tickets in advance.

Depending on your interests, of course, a few of my NYC favorites:

• Central Park
• Metropolitan Museum of Art (I can spend the entire day there!)
• Behind the scenes tour of Radio City Music Hall (book online)
• Macy's
• Rockefeller Centre and Top of the Rock
• Empire State Building and Grand Central Station
• Times Square and Broadway
• Wear your most comfy walking shoes and stroll along any of the famous streets, marvel at the architecture, stop for a bite at a deli

Here are Lonely Planet's ideas for 24 hours in NYC ... although you would likely have to cut the list in half (but it may give you an idea for timing) ...

https://www.lonelyplanet.com/usa/new-york-city/travel-tips-and-articles/76747

What a lovely way to begin your anniversary trip!

You can see a lot in one day, especially if you're willing to zip around on the subway. My favorite pastimes are Central Park and just walking The Highline and various neighborhoods - Greenwich Village, West Village, and Brooklyn Heights are my favorites. As far as museums go, the Met, Guggenheim, the Whitney, and MoMa are top notch...there are too many to mention but those are in a class of their own.

I just like to take the Staten Island Ferry over and back, and the best thing is that it's free.
Our last trip was to Brooklyn, and the art museum and Prospect Park are great.

I was born and raised in Queens, the home of JFK and would like to make some suggestions.

There is plenty to do and you have to decide what interests you. NYC is one place where you will never run out of something to do or see. However, don't try to see things all over Manhattan in one day. You will waste a lot of time in transit. Stick to one basic area--downtown, midtown, etc.

Let's talke about logistics. Since you say you have a long layover at JFK, I'm going to assume you arrive and depart from there.

You can take the Airtrain to Jamaica station and then either the subway or LIRR into Manhattan. Be aware that the trains(subway and rail) into Manhattan will be getting crowded that time of the morning as people head into the City (what NYers call Manhattan) for work. While the trains will be crowded, they wll be faster and cheaper than a cab.

From about 4 PM onward, the same mass exodus will begin out of the City. You will be traveling in the same direction as the exodus in the afternoon.

My suggestion would be to pay the slightly higher fare and take the LIRR to Jamaica and back. The trains don't run as often as the subway but it is faster and should be less crowded. While the subway has numerous stops in Manhattan, the LIRR will let you off at Penn Station (34th ST & 7th Ave. ) and back to Jamaica Station without stops.

There is another Airtrain station at Howard Beach and if you are gong to southern Manhattan, this might be a better choice. You can catch the subway here but no LIRR.

If you can find a place to store your luggage at JFK it would be even better.

Like Paris, most of the main tourist sites will be crowded.

There are some great ideas here - some are really best saved for a 2nd or 3rd or longer visit.

While the Met is fantastic so are the the ticket prices - $25 per person these days - with your limited time unless you are a super art person or have membership in an art museum with reciprocal privileges - skip it.

You won't see anything on the subway - really a HOHO is great for a fast visit like this. There are several

A little more info about your likes would help.

Thank everyone, these ideas are SO helpful!

The day we are there happens to be a Sunday. Will that affect our plans at all? Will things like the subway be less crowed, or won't that really matter? I imagine the touristy places will still be hopping with tourists. It's the city that never sleeps, right?

I doubt we will go to any museums in NYC, since we are sure to see plenty of those in Paris. We definitely plan to see the Statue of Liberty and ground zero. Hubby is interested in the stock exchange, although being a Sunday I don't think there'd be anything to see. Central Park is a great suggestion. And maybe Times Square?

Will things like the subway be less crowed, or won't that really matter?

Much less crowded because people going to work really affects crowding. There will always be people on the subway but there's a big difference when work commuters are on it. Alternatively, you can just pick a section of NYC that's walkable and compact (like area around Wall Street and Battery Park City at the very tip of Manhattan) where you can hit a lot of sites just by walking alone - ferry to Statute of Liberty, Stock Exchange, 9/11 Memorial, lovely promenade along the Hudson river.

I know everyone has to do it once, but Times Square is such a giant touristy letdown IMHO...I stay clear of it (and the theater district too - it's crazy crowded and unless you have tickets to see a show, why bother navigating that mess?). There are lots of places in NYC where you can "get lost" and not be surrounded with tons of tourists - Penn Station, Times Square, Rockefeller Center, Theater District fall into the overtouristed category. So does the 9/11 Memorial, but I'd highly recommend seeing it nonetheless...very touching and it's truly a unique memorial (I believe the tickets are still timed entry so look online before going, and secure your date/time early). There is also a (relatively) new observation deck close by the memorial that is steep in price but may be worth checking out...like everything else in NYC, you've gotta see it once.
https://oneworldobservatory.com/

Times Square is better at night but still a sight in the daylight. Hubby can still have a walk about Wall Street and have a photo with the Bull at Bowling Green. Do that either before or after The Statue of Liberty as the Bowling Green is just north of Battery Park.

If heading to Rockefeller Center, include the "Top of the Rock" (I mentioned this already, I know) and St. Patrick's cathedral across the street.

Since 9/11, you not only can't get in the Stock Exchange if you don't work there, you can't even get too close. And of course, even if you could, it's closed on Sunday. So, let your husband down gently, and explain all this to him before you arrive, so he's not too disappointed.

You've said you probably won't see any museums in NY, but if you decide you DO want to, here are two of the best.

Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) on 53rd street, off 5th avenue has a fabulous collection. Picasso, Van Gogh, Matisse, Gauguin, Warhol, Dali, Chagall, Rauschenberg, Pollock, and much more.

When I lived in NYC, I spent many hours there.

I would take a taxi from the airport to the Empire State Building, take the elevator to the top outdoor terrace. Enjoy the view. Then go to the Museum of Modern Art for a couple of hours. You can walk from one to the other; an easy walk.

Then walk on up 5th avenue, with Central Park on your left, until you come to the Metropolitan Museum. A couple of hours there for the Egyptian stuff.

Someone else mentioned that you should go to the Cloisters. It's a lovely place, but way out of the way. Going up there will take you way north of Central Park and the museums. It's a good suggestion, not debating that.

Both MOMA and The Met have good cafes in them for when you need a break.

You mention three places: Ground Zero, the Stock Exchange, Statue of Liberty.

All are in the same basic area and walkable. Once in Manhattan, take the subway to Ground Zero. From there walk south to The Stock Exhange (a little over half a mile). It will be closed but your husband can take a picture with the bull. From there walk south to the Staten Island Ferry (less than half a mile). I agree that the lines for the Statue will be long and you can get a great view of it as well as of Manhattan from the Ferry. (Plus it's free.)

This area of Manhattan has the most history of early NY and if you do a little research might find other areas of interest. (This is Revolutionary War era NY.)

You can easily take a subway from there to Times Square but it is really not that much to see anymore. Very touristy. Mostly stores catering to tourists That's not NY.

Instead, I would head slightly north of the ferry to either Little Italy, Chinatown or Greenwich Village for a nice meal before heading back to the airport.

One other suggestion, check to see if anything is going on that day in NYC. Sundays are big for special events like parades, festivals,etc and this may have some effect on your plans.

The admission cost of $25 at the Metropolitan Museum is only suggested - give them what you want if you decide to go. I've given them as little as $1 when I just wanted to drop in quickly - they don't look at you like you're a cretin.

A couple of suggestions for lunch: The Carnegie Deli (7th Avenue around 55th St) is fun. Get one of their sandwiches (expensive but huge) or a matzoh ball soup and an egg cream. If you decide to walk around Greenwich Village, Tea and Sympathy, very British, is charming and has very British food (of course you're in NY but out-of-town friends I've brought there have loved it and it's got the smallest bathroom I've ever been in - Greenwich Avenue around 8th Avenue). The streets in Greenwich Village don't follow the grid pattern of the rest of the city so if you get lost, I think a cab or an Uber is your best option.

If you figure it out ahead of time, the subway is the fastest way to get around - less frequent on Sundays but as others have said, less crowded. Others seem to like the HOHO bus to see a large number of sights.

And as another suggested, a taxi back to the airport so you can see New York all lit up is pretty grand.

If you are already going to Wall Street and the financial district, don't miss the nearby South Street Seaport (a short walk). It's the old waterfront from the era when the tall ships used to carry goods to and from New York. Many restored buildings from the 1700's and 1800's, and also a few restored tall ships. Cobblestone streets, a pretty waterfront area to walk and explore, great views to the north of the Brooklyn Bridge. Lots of restaurants and coffee shops. A modern vibe right alongside a historic old New York vibe. Maybe my number one place to visit in NYC. It is also close to Chinatown, so if that's the food you are craving, it's a short walk north.
http://www.southstreetseaport.com/restaurant-directory/

I also recommend a visit to the South Street Seaport Museum; a very small museum so you can just pop in.
https://southstreetseaportmuseum.org/
At the bottom of the following page is a map of the area so you can see how to get to the entire South Street area.
https://southstreetseaportmuseum.org/visit/

One of our favorite days in NYC was a subway ride to Brooklyn, where we wandered through the gorgeous Brooklyn Heights neighbourhood on our way to the Brooklyn Heights Promenade. There, you can stroll along the promenade back towards the Brooklyn Bridge, all the while taking in the beautiful NY skyline across the river. Once you get to the Brooklyn Bridge, walk it back towards the city. There you can see City Hall, Chinatown, etc. - it would depend on how much walking you want to do - you can catch the subway from anywhere to anywhere! If it is a beautiful day, this walk is amazing!

I'll echo Rockefeller Center - the view from the Top of the Rock is outstanding! We did it during the day and went back another night for the city all lit up! Also, the whole Rockefeller Center area has beautiful Art Deco architecture and lovely landscaping all around.

Times Square is better at night.

The free Staten Island ferry to get great pics of the Statue of Liberty.

Grand Central Station really is grand.

St. Patrick's Cathedral is beautiful, but you'll see more magnificent cathedrals in France.

If I had to choose just one museum given limited time, it would have to be The Met.

Another option is just "do" Central Park. So many sights there - lovely bridges, lakes, fountains, gardens and the very moving Strawberry Fields - John Lennon's memorial. Just download a map of the park and go from there. Lovely view of the famous hotel "The Plaza" from the area surrounding the outdoor skating rink in the park.

I'd skip shopping and just window shop and soak up all the great architecture while walking about. It really is a wonderful city with so much to see and do. Good luck with your plans!